A dejected Ted Leonsis walked into the freight elevator at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, minutes after his Washington Capitals had been eliminated from the N.H.L. playoffs on an overtime goal by the Rangers.

The goal had set off pandemonium in the Garden as fans — most of them wearing solid blue or white Rangers jerseys — hugged, yelled and slapped high-fives in celebration.

The noise remained deafening until the elevator door closed. Leonsis, momentarily, could contemplate the heartbreaking, season-ending loss in silence.

He had probably heard that the other team he owns — the N.B.A.’s Washington Wizards — had just lost in almost the same demoralizing style in a playoff game in Atlanta.

I said something about the Wizards at least having another chance on Friday. But Leonis was having none of that.

“So cruel,” he said, shaking his head.

Then the elevator opened, and it filled with a blast of jubilation as Rangers fans took their celebration into the streets.

For me, this was a refreshing change. After a season of attending Knicks games, watching that team stumble to the worst record in franchise history, I had forgotten what it was like to be in the Garden when it was rocking.

But Rangers fans know. Their team went to the Eastern Conference finals in 2012 and to the Stanley Cup finals last year, and now they are back in the conference finals. Their team rallies from big deficits in the postseason; their team wins dramatic Game 7s. Thanks to their team — and certainly not the Knicks — the Garden lives, at least some of the time.

Throughout Wednesday’s taut game, the thought that kept running through my mind was James L. Dolan’s dual stewardship of the Rangers and the Knicks. How can the same person own these totally divergent franchises, so often going in opposite directions?

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Derek Stepan, above right, scored in overtime to give the Rangers a Game 7 win over the Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.CreditBruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Dolan’s Rangers are an exciting, tough-minded, defense-oriented team that keeps the Garden frenzied and keeps winning games. On Wednesday, they became the first N.H.L. team to rally from a 3-1 playoff series deficit for a second consecutive season. Dolan’s Rangers are 4-0 in overtime in this postseason, a testament to their resolve. They have made the playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons, a testament to their consistency.

Dolan’s Knicks have made the postseason three times in the last decade, have won exactly one playoff series in that time and have never seemed more rudderless and hopeless. Their current logic is that things cannot get much worse.

In a happy Rangers locker room Wednesday night, I asked the great goaltender Henrik Lundqvist how it felt to be a part of a team that actually heated up the Garden.

Lundqvist is a fan of the Knicks and attended a couple of their games this season. I wondered how it felt to be a part of such a contrasting environment — winning versus losing, finding a way to reward fans instead of alienating them.

“To be part of this atmosphere and to play big games at home, and to win games at home, is probably the best feeling,” he said. “There’s so much adrenaline.”

As for the Knicks, he was diplomatic. “I went to a couple of games, and the Garden was bumpin’,” he said.

Not like this, I offered.

“No,” he said, “but you can’t compare the two sports. The intensity’s no match between a basketball game and hockey.” Or, more precisely, there’s no comparing a Rangers playoff game and a Knicks game that often borders on the meaningless.

The Rangers will open the conference finals against Tampa Bay on Saturday at the Garden. Demoralized Knicks fans should go, if for no other reason than to stand outside the arena before the game and feel the electricity and be reminded of what a winning atmosphere feels like. Who knows when they’ll otherwise get to experience it?

When I left the Garden early Thursday morning, I walked to the subway.

Rangers fans were still out on the street, celebrating. Knicks fans don’t even have a reason to smile.

If Dolan has to take the blame for one team, shouldn’t he get the credit for the other? Does that make him only half bad?